Shashtiabdapoorthi Celebrations

These days few people celebrate their 60th birthday (Shashtiabdapoorthi*) publicly and one such person who did was my cousin, Babu. Babu aka Parthasarathy, is my father’s elder brother’s eldest son. I visited Chennai to participate in his Shashtiabdapoorthi celebrations. One of my objectives for this visit was to meet my father’s relatives in the function. So I planned for the trip in advance by booking rail tickets through the internet. I reached Chennai on the 12th morning, a day after heavy rains lashed the City due to a low pressure in the Bay. Every one knows that if it rained in Chennai, roads get flooded with rain water, but on that day the situation had improved. The other concern I had was how to reach the venue of the celebrations, the Kalyanamandapam without being fleeced by the auto drivers at the Central Railway station. So very carefully I crossed over to the other side of the road and hailed an auto to reach the place at a bargained fare of Rs.70/- fare. After freshening up, I waited in the Hall for other relatives to arrive. Each one of them arrived one after the other, some I could recognise easily but others unknown or forgotten were introduced by common relatives. I greeted them, spent some time talking to them about each other and other matters. Most in my peer group who were not so successful in their careers were thinking of retirement, the successful ones were talking about their career, children, etc. Another set of relatives, slightly older and retired, were talking about their current activities, especially their frequent jaunts to the promised land, the US of A. A majority of these people had their son(s) and daughter(s) working there, thanks to the abundant jobs in the tech sector. Our family not lucky to have such connections had to be contented to be rooted here (no complaints). The most important factor was the food expected to be served in these functions. Any shortcomings in this area would be a talking point in the later years. After entreating myself to a good lunch (which was really good), I spent the afternoon in my cousin’s home and returned to Bangalore by the night train.

*Excerpts on Shashtiabdapoorthi from http://www.globaladjustments.com/nlfeb04.html#top &
http://srinivasbadri.blogspot.com/2005/05/india-trip-shashtiabdapoorthi.html

Turning 60 is a social-religious event in India, especially in South India. When a man or woman turns 60 a sacred Vedic celebration called Shashtiabdapoorthi is performed - shashti meaning 60 years, abdam the year and poorthi signifying the completion of 60 years in a person’s lifetime. Rituals and mantras mark the event and a ‘remarriage’ of the couple is performed.

According to the Vedas, at 60 a man has reached the halfway mark of his actual span of life, which is 120 years. And according to Hindu numerology, six is not a favourable number and 60 is a point in life when the ruling planet of a person may have an adverse effect on his life. The person performs a religious shanti, mainly to invoke peace, ensure good health, and longevity. There is a similar ceremony, too, when a woman turns 60.

Visit to Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple at Sugganahalli, Magadi Taluk

Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy Temple, Sugganahalli, Magadi Taluk.

I had always wanted to visit this temple once my colleague, Subbu informed me about it. Subbs (R.Subramanya) knows most of the temples around Tumkur, Bangalore and Mandya districts. He always coaxed me to visit the important temples closer to Bangalore.

On 30th Oct 2010, I spoke to Shri.Sampath Kumar, the Peshgar of the temple. I asked him for directions and the darshan timings. He gave directions and invited me to attend a Kalyanotsavam on 31st Oct 2010.

So, I set off to Sugganahalli 0n 31st of Oct 2010 early morning around 07:30AM. I boarded a bus bound for Kunigal at Yeshwantapur and alighted at Solur. Solur is a town on the Bangalore - Mangalore Highway. Currently the highway is being widened for building a four lane road. There was some progress in the construction but traffic up and down was confined in a single lane due to the construction activity. The traffic was not so dense when compared to other highways going out of the City. Travel time to Solur was about 1.5 hrs, being a Sunday and the elevated highway being operational from the 8th Mile point on the Tumkur Road.

Getting down at Solur, I crossed over to the other side of the highway and waited for a local bus to take me to Sugganahalli. A family of four too got down at Solur and was going to the same temple. The head of the family told me he was going to Garuda temple and I was going to Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy temple, both in Sugganahalli. For a moment I thought there were two temples but was told there was one temple in Sugganahalli.

After waiting for about 45 min, I boarded a KSRTC bus coming from Bangalore to a place beyond Sugganahalli. (This bus starts at 08.30AM from Majestic KSRTC bus station). During the journey I happened to meet the temple priest's younger brother, who gave me a brief history about the temple. The temple was built about one thousand years old and its area was a penance ground for holy sages.

After a 45 min journey via Kudur and Hulikal, I reached Sugganahalli. The temple was close to the busstand and took a few minutes to reach. When I entered the temple, the Alankara(dressing of the vigrahas) of the Deity was in progress. After waiting for over 1 hour, the pooja to Garuda (the divine birdly vehicle of Sri Narayana and Sri Lakshmi) commenced. Now I could connect to what the person told me that he was going to the Garuda temple. The main Deity is a standing Murti (statue) of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy . The Ammavaru (Sri Lakshmi) has a separate sanctum sanctorum for worship. Along with them there are Sannidhis (sanctum sanctorum) for the Alwars and Acharyas (Vaishnavite Saints).

Thereafter the kalyanotsavam of the Lord and Sri Ammavaru commenced and concluded at 02.30PM. All devotees present were treated to a good lunch. I returned home around 05.30 PM having the satisfaction of praying at the holy temple of Sri Lakshmi Narasimha Swamy at Sugganahalli.

PS: Sorry folks! I did not carry my camera which I always do, this time. So there are no photographs for publish.

Kalahalli visit

Waiting for a long time , I decide to visit Kalahalli village to have a darshan of Lord Sri Varahaswamy. I was told about this unique temple by my colleague, Subramanya, who encouraged me to visit for a darshan. After a much thought, I started on the 7th Nov 09, a Saturday after obtaining the directions from him. I woke up early, bathed and after the morning puja, came to the City Railway Station only to find a long queue at the booking counter. I decided to travel by the KSRTC bus and boarded one that was going to Mysore. I purchased a ticket to Srirangapatna and arrived there around 08.30 AM. The bus to Bookanakere village had then gone. Bookanekere was one of the points from where you could reach Kalahalli. Therefore I took the bus to KR Pete and reached there about 10.30AM. From there I tried to haggle with auto drivers on the rate to go to the temple. At last I was on an auto with a load of others, villagers, who were going to their villages. The roads were in bad condition and shook every bone in my body. Finally we reached Ganjikere, a village which was the entrance to the temple. Of course, I was faced with the choice to walk 2-3 KMs to reach the temple. The auto driver, after being egged by the friendly villagers took 'pity' on me and dropped me near the temple. It is nice to see that villagers are very helpful and straightforward in their behaviour. A co-passenger, an old lady with her grandchild narrated her tale of woe. Her son-in-law was wasting his time not willing to work but eating out on the labour of her daugther. She requested me to pray to the Lord to give her son-in-law ' a good sense'. I told I would do so. Finally after a having a good darshan of the Lord and the Sri Mahalakshmi, I spent some time photographing the place. The place was placid with the backwaters of the KRS Dam. White Storks were seen catching fishes from the backwaters. I took photos after seeking the permission from the villagers who asked me innocently why I required so. If I wanted to photograph them I could do so. Finally I left the place very happy and satisfied, reached Bangalore in the evening through Srirangapatna.