Kanyakumari Tour

For a long time Gopakumar, our Manager and myself were planning to go to cape, otherwise known as Kanyakumari. As work would not permit it, Gopakumar said that it is better Rathinam and I make it.

It was on September 18^th 2024, we could start. We commenced our journey by 09.10 hrs and reached TTDC Kanyakumari by 14.45hrs.

It was 337 kms which we covered in 5 hours and 35 minutes. On the way we stopped at a high way hotel after Madurai. The stopover was for about 25 minutes and we took Vada and tea.  We had the pleasure of having part of the journey in Highway No.44, the longest highway in the country (Srinagar – Kanyakumari)

Kanyakumari is a small town and is the capital of Kanyakumari district. It is 90 kms south of Thiruvananthapuram and 20 kms south of Nager coil.

It is a great tourist attraction with its Vivekananda rock memorial, Thiruvalluvar statue and unique sunrise and sun set points.

TTDC hotel was good. From the sit out of room no.17 we could see all the attractions of Kanyakumari in one view.

Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) was incorporated in 1971 with the motive to promote tourism and cater to the people across the world for exploring enchanting Tamil Nadu. From a modest start of owning over 5 Govt. Bungalows and operating 2 coaches, the organization scaled great heights to own the longest chain of hotels in South India numbering 53 and a fleet of 14 coaches. Apart from this, TTDC also branched out in multiple services.

Vivekananda Memorial:

Vivekananda Memorial is one of the attractions of Kanyakumari. It stands on one of the two rocks in the sea, about 500 meters from the mainland.

Amid the soothing sea breeze and dancing waves is a rock, so enigmatic and elegant. It’s a tribute to India’s greatest monk who took this land’s spiritual brilliance to the world. The Vivekananda Rock Memorial is as timeless as the sage himself.

It was on the 25th day of December, 1892 Vivekananda swam across the sea, reached this rock and meditated for three days and nights. 88 years later it was in 1970 the memorial was constructed. The architect was Eknath Ranade.

It is open between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. The entrance fee is Rs.50

Vivekananda linked morality with control of the mind, seeing truth, purity and unselfishness as traits which strengthened it.

The Thiruvalluvar Statue is in the next rock. There is a bridge under construction between the two rocks. Hence the boat service to that rock is stopped.

Thiruvalluvar Statue:

The imposing statue of Thiruvalluvar was created by the Indian Sculptor V.Ganapathi Sthapathi and was dedicated to the people on January 1, 2000 by the then Chief Minister of Tamilnadu M.Karunanithi. The height of the statue including the base is 133 feet. Thirukkural has 133 chapters (Athikarams).

On 15 April 1979, the then Prime Minister Morarji Desai laid the foundation stone for the statue, in the presence of the then Chief Minister, M. G. Ramachandran. However, the actual sculpting work, led by Dr. V. Ganapati Sthapathi, former principal of the Government College of Architecture at Mahabalipuram, began a decade later on 6 September 1990, on the tiny island adjacent to the Vivekananda Rock Memorial when funds were allocated in the 1990–91 budget.

Thiruvalluvar, ancient Tamil poet and philosopher wrote Thirukkural which consists of three main parts namely Aram, Porul and, Inbam (Virtue, Wealth and Love).

The three parts put together consists of 133 Chapters.

The total height is 133 feet. The statue is 95 feet and the pedestal is 38 feet. The pedestal represents the 38 chapters of Virtue, the first of the three parts of the Kural text. The statue itself represents the second and third parts of the Kural text, namely, Wealth and Love.

 Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu is located at the southernmost tip of India's main land. The latitude 8°05' N passes close to it. The place is thus near the equator and lies close to the Equatorial region. As the sun shines directly over the Equator throughout the year, the durations of day and night are almost equal here.

Unique Sunrise and Sunset:

 Kanyakumari is one of the rare places where you can view both the sunrise and sunset. It is because of the location and the environmental condition. Kanyakumari is located at the southernmost tip of the Indian sub continent, where the three water bodies converge. It is because we are in the tip of the land we are in a position to see both the sun rise and sun set.

 Padmanapapuram Palace:

We stayed for two nights in Kanyakumari, the 18^th and 19^th. It is on 19^th we went to the palace. It is about one hour drive from where we stayed.

Padmanabhapuram Palace, also known as Kalkulam Palace, is a Travancore-era palace located in Padmanabhapuram in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.

 

The palace is owned, controlled and maintained by Kerala government.

The palace is in Kanyakumari district near Thakkalai.                          The sprawling complex is a hallmark of Kerala architecture.

It was constructed by the then Maharaja of Travancore, Ravi Varma 

Kulasekara Perumal. The construction started by 1601. It has a clock tower housing a 300 years old clock which still shows time. It has the King’s Cot which is made of 64 herbs. It also has a narrow room where the armory of the mighty venad emperor was stored.

The important edifices in the palace complex are the Poomukham, Plamoottil Kottaram, Veppinmoodu Kottaram, Thaikkottaram, Oottupura, Homappura, Uppirika Malika, Ayudhappura, Chandravilasam, Indravilasam, Navarathrimandapam Lekshmivilasam or Puthenkottaram and the Thekkekottaram. It is considered the largest wooden palace in India made mainly of wood and granite. The pillar carved from a single jack fruit tree, the ornate Chinese chair, the horseman lamp, Chinese Jars, Belgian Mirrors and the bed made of 64 different medicinal woods are the other chief attractions. The edifices are designed in order to meet the needs of the climate too. The materials used are wood, laterite, burnt bricks, granite, lime, tiles, mica and polished shells. The shiny black floor is made from a combination of charcoal from burnt coconut shell, lime, white part of eggs and various plant extracts. Various kinds of oil lamps such as Nilavilakku, Madambi Vilakku and Horseman Lamp are kept on the floor or hung on the ceilings to light the palace at night.

The palace is now open to public on an entrance fee.

The timings are 0900 hrs to 1230 hrs in the morning and 14.00 to 16.30 hrs in the evening.

There is a museum which closes 45 minutes after the palace.

The museum has three sections. Sculptures, Arms and Photos. The first section lots of idols of gods and goddesses.

The second section consists of an exhibition of the arms of the formidable Venad emperor.

The last section displays the photos and write-ups and maps.

We completed the visit by 13.30 hrs and started back to Kanyakumari. On the way we took our lunch in a hotel. The taste was good.

We reached TTDC by about 14.45 hrs and saw the left out attractions. To be on the safer side we avoided the beach side food. The food in TTDC restaurant was good. There also we took Veg fried rice and veg noodles.

The weather in Kanyakumari was good. The highest temp was 32 and the lowest 26. There was lot of breeze. The humidity was around 67%.

On 20.9.24 we began our return journey at about 08.50 hrs. Drove fast . We had a detour in Kovilpatti as we wanted to buy some peanut cakes. Incidentally it happens to be the town in which Rathinam spent his boyhood (six to Twelve ). He started recognizing all the land marks. Explained his experiences with lot of interest.

It was at Madurai we took our lunch. We got into Anjappar. We ordered for One Non Veg Meals, one Mutton Biriyani and one Curd Rice and got a negative reply for Curd Rice. We then looked into the menu and ordered  Plain Rice and Curd which was there in the menu. It was after a long contemplation they agreed to supply the same. The mutton pieces in the biriyani contained more bones than flesh. The side dishes were very hot (Chilly hot). On the whole food was bad. We then drove to Kanadukathan.

Safely reached back at 14.50 hrs. On the whole it was a satisfying trip.

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