Day 4 - Chennai Trip - Visiting Velankanni
Something about Chennai made us get up early everyday. This time, we had to travel around 350 kms by a rented car to a holy place called Velankanni. Well we were excited and decided to leave at 8 am after breakfast at Murugans.
Once we got out of the city, we took the scenic route also called the ECR or East Coast Road. Unlike the boring Mumbai-Pune expressway, this road passes through some of the most amazing sights with beautiful crystal clear beaches on the left and villages and rice plantations on the right. We were crusiing down the highway and I saw this guy on a moped who was probably carrying around 60-70 metal pots all wrapped in a fishing net and tied to the rear seat. We zipped passed Mahabalipuram which incidentally had a name changed to Mamallapuram and reached Pondicherry. After 3 hrs of non-stop travel, we decided to stop for lunch. Of all the high expectations that I had of Pondicherry, of the scenic beauty , the French style buildings… I was disappointed. It seemed like any other town in India with unfriendly people OR maybe we didn’t explore enough.
We seemed to be the only people in the restaurant and made an awful mess of the table eating out on a Banana leaf and without spoons. I swore I was never going to eat on the leaf again.
Got back in the car and the poor driver kept driving and driving and driving and we passed small towns and big towns and small temples and some really large temples that were bang in the middle of the road.
Finally we reached Nagapattinam district, the place that was severely affected by the Tsunami in Dec 2004. We saw a lot of rehabilitation projects and houses that seemed to be recently built. Finally we reached Velankanni at 4:30 in the evening and checked straight into a hotel. A short rest and we walked towards the Church past many stalls selling eatables and wax offerings and garlands and candles.
The Church was simply beautiful. It reminded me of the Mount Mary’s church in Bandra, only difference this was even taller and plain white that it just resembled a place of purity and piety and with the faint singing of the choir and bells chiming away, you just feel a divine presence as you move closer.
Once inside, the old church looks very traditional, with very few pews and mostly everyone sitting on the ground. We bought a few offerings and made our way towards the center of the Church. Never before did I see so many people praying so fervently for maybe favors or perhaps in thanksgiving or maybe simply for a good health. I heard this statement once before “I complained that my shoes hurt until I saw a man without feet.” When you see so many people praying devoutly, some on crutches, some without limbs, others all alone, all your problems suddenly seem to be insignificant or miniscule in comparison and yes after a long tiring journey, I forgot all about the pain in my feet.
We trudged back to our hotel as darkness came over quickly promising to return early morning to see the entire campus.
posted by Nev @ 12:27 AM
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