The wood was hitting the hard ground, cutting creases and the boy shouted “OUT”. The local boys were busy with their cricket practice session on the ground near my apartment. The sun was still taking its time to shine its ray out; no one belonging to my block was seen outside. The driver reversed my car from the parking lot. I and two of my friends Alka and Saran got into the car at half past five in the morning.
Born and brought up in Coimbatore, I had never been to this place in my 20 years of life here. Though known to many, only a few take this to be a memorable journey. Not because it is not a worthy spot but for the strain they need to take to reach the place.
Anuvavi Hills, yes that is the place. It is home to the famous Anuvavi Subramanian Temple. Situated 12 km away from the city, our driver expertly drove us to the place. Before entering the Periyathadagam village where the temple is situated, I noticed delicate baggy –like small houses that crowded the area. After we passed through those houses and travelled little extra kilometers, we took a turn to the left and reached the main entrance of the temple, downhill to be exact.
Our driver told us that there was no other way to reach the hill top other than climbing the stairs which precisely led to the temple itself. I stood near the stairs and glanced over the sides of it to see if any hiking was possible. It seemed a bad option to climb uphill without using the stairs. The sides were bushy and thorny, and also large trees covered the hill floor which was matted with dry leaves. “Stairs girls, trekking is treacherous” I said. They were in agreement too. As we climbed we could see the temple more clearly. I was ready with my camera to snap all that interested me along the way. I pressed the button to bring its lens alive. I pressed twice, thrice and nothing happened later to realize that there was no battery inside it. What bad luck, I thought. Frustrated that the scenic beauty or our faces with this magnificent backdrop cannot be registered I climbed quickly. Gradually I slowed down seeing the flight of steps still lying long. I was reminded of Shravana Belugola at Karnataka. Here the steps were better carved with better rails to hold and another credit was that there were lots of trees around to protect us from the scorching sun unlike Shravana Belugola. Still the flight seemed long.
The countdown ended and we climbed the last step nearly after 35 minutes from our starting point.
The Western Ghats, blending itself with the serenity and pious ecstasy of the temple environment was how I felt seeing the view right from the top notch. Houses, cattle and small fields were tiny and it meant a perfect view point for whole of Periyathadagam just like Dodabetta peak at Udhagamangalam. The difference was that necessity of a telescope was nil. The architecture of the temple wasn’t anything arresting. Like all temples in Tamil Nadu Garbha griha or Sanctum Sanctorum of the temple was of Lord Subramanian, famously known as Lord Karthikeya in North India. Another small structure where Lord Ganesha is worshipped is just adjacent to the main temple. A wooden chariot to take the lord for a ride during temple festivals could also be seen as we took a full round. The temple as such was small and there wasn’t any specific architectural expertise to detain my attention in the temple premises. What made it unique and a highly appreciable spot was the merging between the temple premises and the hilly surrounding. The freshness that the air held around me was exceptional.
As most temples hold a mythological background, this temple wasn’t an exception. The priest briefed us the story behind the perennial source of water stream called ‘Hanuman Theertham’. It was said that when Hanuman was going to back to the battlefield taking the Sanjeevani hill along with him to bring back consciousness of Ram’s brother Lakshman, he stopped by this Anuvavi hill. He prayed to Lord Karthikeya to quench his thirst and the stream was brought out by the Lord to help Hanuman. The stream never dries and caters to water requirement of people staying around the hill especially during summer. I was quite amused to know that water shortage was a term unknown to them. It was real ‘theertham’ I should say. The water from the stream tasted so good. The energy exhausted while climbing uphill was renewed by the sight at hill top and the energy to reach down with same fresh feeling was well contributed by the water. Though I regretted a lot for not taking the batteries along with the camera, the pictures remains fresh in mind as though it was tough stained not to be faded soon. We climbed down saving ten minutes than when we climbed up.
We reached for our car and we were all silent for at least twenty minutes on our way back. It wasn’t because we were exhausted rather we felt our energy boosters in action, it was just to take in all the serenity that the place had impressed us with. To take back everything I saw and felt which no lens other than my eyes and senses could catalog. I did not regret anymore for leaving the batteries behind, none of us did.
